This Guidebook presents a module template for effectively including livestock in multi-topic and agricultural household
surveys in low- and middle-income countries. It is a practical tool for survey practitioners—including Bureaus of Statistics,
ministries responsible for livestock, and non-governmental and civil-society organizations, regional institutions, international
organizations, the private sector, and other stakeholders—to collect data on the role of livestock in the household economy
and its contribution to livelihoods. The data will assist in generating statistics on key features of the smallholder livestock
sector—from herd size and composition to husbandry and production practices, from meat, milk, and egg production to
livestock income. These statistics represent the backbone for effective livestock-sector policies and investments.
In most low-and middle-income countries, information on livestock is scant at best, and when available it is often inaccurate,
preventing stakeholders from tapping into the many development opportunities that livestock provide. It is estimated
that 60 percent of rural households in low-and middle-income countries depend on livestock for their livelihoods; livestock
is one of the fastest growing agricultural sectors, and is anticipated to become one the largest contributors to agricultural
value added. Sustainable livestock systems can contribute to alleviating poverty and ending hunger, and to improving food
security, nutrition, and health. They also have complex interactions with ecosystems and are part of the equation when it
comes to addressing environmental degradation and climate change, and preserving biodiversity.
The livestock module template is a systematic attempt to provide guidance to stakeholders responsible for collecting
data on livestock at the household level. It builds on a variety of multi-topic household survey questionnaires and
agricultural/livestock survey questionnaires implemented in low- and middle-income countries, as well as on lessons
drawn from the implementation of comprehensive livestock questionnaires in the context of multi-topic household
surveys in Niger, Tanzania, and Uganda—including data validation, analysis, and interpretation with expert informants.
The main objectives of the livestock module are to:
a. Generate basic statistics on key livestock-related variables, such as livestock ownership and access to animal
health services;
b. Measure the contribution of livestock to the household asset base;
c. Measure the cash and in-kind income from livestock;
The livestock module elicits information in the following domains:
a. Livestock ownership by indigenous/local and improved/exotic breeds;
b. Change in stock over the reference period—due to birth, purchase, sale, disease, slaughter (meat production), and other
reasons;
c. Breeding, housing, watering, and feeding practices and labor inputs;
d. Animal health, including major diseases and preventive and curative treatments;
e. Milk production, including sale and own-consumption;
f. Egg production and sales;
g. Animal power, both for draft power and hauling services;
h. Dung, including its different uses.
Having information on production and inputs and the associated values allows for the computation of a measure of income
from livestock which, in the context of a full household survey, makes it possible to quantify the role of livestock in the
household economy, and examine how different socio-economic profiles engage in the sector.
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One aspect that cuts across domains is the gender dimension. Livestock ownership; management tasks; and the production,
handling, and sale of different livestock products are often organized within the household, with a division of roles along
gender lines that can be captured only by explicitly taking gender into account at the survey design stage.
Finally, the information collected via the livestock module can be used in combination with the information collected in a
survey’s food consumption module to understand the role of animal source foods in household food consumption, including
their types, quantity, and origin. Animal source foods can contribute to addressing or exacerbating malnutrition problems,
whether related to undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies (‘hidden hunger’), or overweight and obesity.
Recognizing that different stakeholders have different priorities in terms of what they need to measure, monitor, and analyze—and
that they face different constraints in terms of implementation—the questionnaire comes in three forms.
The first is a short version of around 30 questions that focuses on the basic characteristics of the herd, computing a measure
of livestock income and some limited information on livestock production and constraints. The second is a standard
version of about 100 questions that has more detail on all of the above, and collects additional information on animal husbandry
practices and livestock services and on the individual roles of household members with respect to some key aspects
of livestock management. The third is an extended version (available as an online annex on the LSMS website, www.worldbank.org/lsms)
of around 170 questions that collects more detailed information on all of the above. An enumerator manual
is also available online.
In all cases, users should consider the three questionnaires as templates that can be expanded, reduced, and adjusted to
meet specific data and statistical needs. This is essential for developing survey questionnaires that collect livestock data that
effectively respond to the information needs of livestock stakeholders.